Annular split bearing housing



March 4, 1969 w. D. HAENTJENS ANNULAR SPLIT BEARING HOUSING Original Filed Dec. 30, 1964 AREA OF RAPID COOLING AND SOLIDIFICATION RECEIVING BORE [5 MACHINE BEARING THICK SECTION SECTION LTO BORE TO INTERNAL STRESSES PLIT THIN RALLE RELIEVE INVENTOR.

COOL AND SOLIDIFY COOL AND SOLIDIFY THIN SECTION POUR CASTING FIG.4

WALTER D. HAENTJENS ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,431,032 ANNULAR SPLIT BEARING HGUSING Walter D. Haentjens, RD. 31, Sugarloaf, Pa. 18249 Original application Dec. 30, 1964, Ser. No. 422,255, now Patent No. 3,335,481, dated Aug. 15, 1967. Divided and this application Mar. 24, 1967, Ser. No. 625,717 U.S. Cl. 308-45 2 Claims Int. Cl. F16c 13/00, 39/00, 35/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hearing housing cast in varying degrees of thickness and cooled unevenly to set up stresses which after boring and splitting of the housing allow it to compress inwardly reducing the size of the bore to clamp securely onto a bearing carried thereby.

This is a divisional application of applicants copending case, Ser. No. 422,255, Dec. 30, 1964, now Patent No. 3,335,481, issued Aug. 15, 1967.

Heretofore it has been known that many types of equipment, such as centrifugal pumps for slurry service, require shafts which can be axially moved. This is frequently accomplished by mounting the shaft bearings in a tube which can be axially adjusted. Most bearing yokes which mount a separate bearing tube or enclosure have either a non-adjustable bore which requires close tolerance machining, or a split yoke which requires clamping means thereon to secure it on the bearing tube. These devices are expensive, difiicult to operate, and not readily adjustable. A new and more efiicient split yoke type bearing housing is needed by the art.

Therefore, it is the general object of the present invention to avoid and overcome the foregoing and other difiiculties of and objections to prior art practices by meeting the needs of the art with a split bearing housing made by casting a housing different thicknesses at different portions thereof and solidifying the thinner portion first so that as the thicker portion is solidified it sets up internal stresses which draw in and tighten the fit onto a bearing tube when the housing is split after machining the required bore for the tube and the tube is suitably positioned in the housing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a split bearing housing which does not require any external clamping means for a tight grip onto a bearing tube positioned therein, as the housing is cast using controlled casting solidification conditions to set up internal stresses therein, which residual stresses draw the housing in and tighten its fit onto the tube when the housing is made in the manner herein described.

Another object of the invention is to provide a split bearing housing which is quite inexpensive, which housing is extremely practical and effective in operation, which allows ready and precise axial adjustment of any bearing mounted thereby, and which securely holds the bearing mounted thereby in the proper position without the use of external clamping means.

The aforesaid objects of the invention and other objects which will become apparent as the description proceeds are achieved by providing a split bearing housing having a cast iron annular shaped casting with a thick section and a thin section so solidified upon casting as to put the thin section in compression, the casting having a bore made therethrough of a desired diameter and a slot through approximately the center of the thin section substantially parallel to the bore, the slot being cut after the bore is formed whereby the compression forces in the thin half of the casing are released and the bore is reduced in diameter when the slot is cut into the housing.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical cross-section of a base supported annular bearing housing formed according to the method of the invention, prior to the splitting thereof;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of the annular bearing housing of FIGURE 1 after it is split and clamped around a bearing support tube showing how the internal stresses in the thin section of the housing have been relieved and the housing compresses around the bearing tube;

FIGURE 3 is a broken away fragmentary plan view of the housing of FIGURE 2 showing the tapered hole and plug means, hereinafter described in more detail, utilized for spreading the split in the housing to allow axial positioning of the bearing support tube; and

FIGURE 4 is a block diagram showing the method steps sequentially utilized in making the split bearing housing of the invention.

While it should be understood that the bearing housing of the invention and the method of manufacture thereof could be applicable to a bearing housing supporting any type of bearing, it was designed for the purpose of supporting and holding a tube bearing support for mounting the shaft bearings of a horizontal shaft, and hence it has been so illustrated and so described.

With reference to the form of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 1 of of the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates generally a bearing housing which comprises a thin section 12 positioned on the vertically upward half and a thicker section 14'on the vertically downward half of the housing 10. The housing 10 is formed with the thin section 12 and thicker section 14, as more fully described hereinafter, so as to set up internal stresses within the thin section 12 to achieve the objects of the invention, as more fully described hereinafter. FIGURE 1 also shows that the housing 10 may be mounted by support legs, or a base pedestal 1-6. The housing 10 is generally made as a casting from a suit-able molten iron composition. The desired solidification action is obtained by use of the thin section 12 being the top portion of the casting and with gating and risering of such a nature as to have the thin section 12 rapidly cool and solidify at least over a portion as generally indicated by the double ended arrow 18. The thicker section 14 is cooled more slowly and solidifies after the upper section 12, which solidification takes place over an extended area indicated by the double ended arrow 20. It is the rapid cooling and solidification of the thin section 12 coupled with the slow cooling and solidification of the thicker section 14 and the following solidification of the base 16 and its portions that connect to the section 14 which set up the desired internal compressive stresses within the thin section 12.

After the housing 10 has been cast and hardened, it is provided with an accurately sized and shaped central bore 22 adapted to receive a bearing and associated shaft (not shown in FIGURE 1). The bore 22 may be cylindrically shaped and of a desired diameter to receive a particular bearing. However, the invention also contemplates that the bore 22 may be concave in shape to receive bearings having particular concave outward surfaces for mating therewith. In other words, the invention contemplates that the bore 22 will be provided with the shape necessary to receive a particular bearing. The machining and forming of the bore 22 is always performed after the casting. Generally, the casting process will not be exact or accurate enough to eliminate necessary machining or further forming of the bore 22, however it may be that further forming will not be necessary.

FIGURE 2 illustrates the bearing housing 10 of FIG- URE 1 having the thin walled top section 12 split at 24 along a line substantially parallel with the bore 22. The

split 24 extends completely through the section 12 and will be of sufficient width to allow the internal compressive stresses to be relieved by pulling the ends 28 and 30 of the thin section 12 adjacent the split 24 downward and inward from their original position, as more clearly indicated by a dotted line 26. In other words, the internal compressive stresses pull the now cantilevered ends, or arms 28 and 30 of the thin top section 12 downwardly and inwardly to reduce the diameter of the bore 22. FIG- URE 2 also shows a bearing tube 32 operatively positioned in the bore 22 and held in position by the downward and inward compressing action of the cantilevered ends 28 and 30 of the thin section 12. The bearing tube 32 may mount a bearing 34 therein while a shaft 36 is rotatably mounted by the bearing 34.

It has been found that proper casting and sequential cooling of the housing 10, forming of the bore 22, and splitting the bearing housing at 24 in the thin section 12 provides a considerable compressive force in the cantilevered ends 28 and 30 to draw them onto the bearing tube 32 so that no other clamping of the bearing tube 32 into position relative to the housing 10 is necessary. In order to effect any longitudinal movement of the bearing tube 32 with respect to the housing 10 and to control the size of the bore, a tapered set screw hole 38, as best seen in FIGURE 3, is provided at the split 24. A tapered set screw 40 is received in the hole 38 so that movement of the screw 40 down into the hole 38 will cause the split 24 to be widened sufficiently to allow the tube 32 to be moved longitudinally to the desired position in the bearing housing. The positions of the bearing 34 and the shaft 36 relative to the housing 10 and the base support 16 should also be noted with respect to FIGURE 3.

The block diagram of FIGURE 4 indicates the sequential manufacturing steps for the housing 10. As indicated by block 50, the first step involves pouring of the casing. This is followed, in time sequence, by cooling and solidification of the thin section, as indicated by block 52, and cooling and solidification of the thick section, as indicated by block 54. The solidified housing is then machined appropriately to provide a bearing receiving bore, as indicated by block 56, with the thin section then being split in any conventional manner substantially parallel to the bore at the center thereof to provide cantilevered arms which compress together because of the relieved internal compression stresses to provide a clamping action on the bearing tube, or bearing itself, as indicated by block 58.

It should be realized that the bearing housing is of any suitable construction, and that it may comprise a casting having continuous legs or a support base extending the length thereof. Two annular portions usually are provided in the casting at the ends thereof for engaging the bearing tube 32 at spaced portions thereof. Only one end of the bearing housing 10 is shown in FIGURE 3.

The thin section 12 need not be the upper portion of the bearing housing as operatively positioned and such section may be of suitable length, usually about 150 to 180 in circumferential extent.

Thus, it is seen that the objects of the invention are provided by a novel manufacturing process for an improved cast metal split bearing housing. No stress relief is given to the castings so that certain stresses remain in the metal of the housing.

In practice of the invention, the residual stresses are such in the arms 28 and 30 that it is not unusual for the machined bore to be reduced by as much as .020 inch, for example, measured in the direction of the perpendicular to the plane of the split. Thus, in order to permit insertion of a bearing tube or hearing into the housing, the cantilevered arm portions must be expanded by inserting the tapered threaded plug or set screw 40 into the tapered opening in the split. When this plug is drawn down, the wedging action of the taper causes the cantilevered arms to open to their original positions, or more open positions, depending upon the turning effect of the tapered plug. Once the bearing tube or hearing is inserted into the housing, and properly positioned axially, the tube or bearing can be clamped in place merely by removing the plug whereby the stresses in the cantilevered arms of the thin section or portion will cause them to compress inwardly on the bearing means.

If axial adjustment of the shaft and bearing assembly is required at any subsequent time, it is only necessary to reinsert the tapered threaded plug and expand the cantilevered arms enough to permit the tube or bearing to slide through the housing.

While in accordance with the Patent Statutes only one best known embodiment of the invention is illustrated and described in detail, it is to be particularly understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby, but that the inventive scope is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a split bearing housing, the combination of:

a cast metal casing having an axially extending bore extending therethrough and positioned to define a thick portion and a thin portion in the casing wall, said casing having a longitudinally extending slot through approximately the center of the thin portion positioned substantially parallel to the bore to divide the thin portion into two arms, said arms having an inherent tendency to move inwardly into the bore,

a bearing means removably received in the bore of the casing and operatively held in position by compression by the two arms of the thin portion,

means to spread the arms of the thin portion apart to spread the slot to thereby release the bearing means and allow axial adjustment thereof, said casing having a tapered hole extending through its wall at said slot and having an axis perpendicular to the bore, and

the means to spread the arms of the thin portion apart comprises a tapered screw threadably received in said tapered hole.

2. In a bearing housing, the combination of:

a cast metal annular shaped casing having a vertical section a relatively thick wall arcuate portion and a relatively thin wall arcuate portion, said casing having a bore and a longitudinal slot at approximately the center of the thin wall portion,

base means connecting to said casing at the junctions of said thick and thin wall portions,

said casing having a tapered hole formed therein and extending through the slot perpendicular to the bore, said thick and thin wall portions each being about one-half the circumference of the casing, and

a tapered screw threadably received in the tapered hole whereby when a bearing is mounted therein the hearing may be axially adjusted by spreading the slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS MARTIN P. SCHWADRON, Primary Examiner.

FRANK SUSKO, Assistant Examiner, 

